[ALFA100]

Im a newbie to listening seriously to headphones. not wanting to disturb neighbours in my new home I found no joy listening to my high end rig below 70 dB ; Wilson Audio Sasha with Pass labs Xa 100,8 mono blocks. In desperation i took my head phones and amp out of storage . AKG K812 with Schiit LYR . Sound was kind of okay until a friend advised I replace tubes in the Schiit with Sovteks. Happiness……. I had no idea headphones could sound so good. Thing is how loud should one play headphone without ear damage AND when the itch starts what should my upgrade path be?

 

[Craft Ears]

Im a newbie to listening seriously to headphones. not wanting to disturb neighbours in my new home I found no joy listening to my high end rig below 70 dB ; Wilson Audio Sasha with Pass labs Xa 100,8 mono blocks. In desperation i took my head phones and amp out of storage . AKG K812 with Schiit LYR . Sound was kind of okay until a friend advised I replace tubes in the Schiit with Sovteks. Happiness……. I had no idea headphones could sound so good. Thing is how loud should one play headphone without ear damage AND when the itch starts what should my upgrade path be?

Hi, welcome to the fun!
1. If you think about a loud street in a city, that is around 90dB and you shouldn't listen to this level longer than 2 hours, so they say. I personally find a comfortable level and don't go crazy. Too many albums ahead to risk it
2. If you are a Pass user, they do have a headamp, so that would be an obvious thing to try. As per headphones... Lots of great brands around: HiFiMan, Focal, ZMF, DCA etc...

 

[ALFA100]

Hi, welcome to the fun!
1. If you think about a loud street in a city, that is around 90dB and you shouldn't listen to this level longer than 2 hours, so they say. I personally find a comfortable level and don't go crazy. Too many albums ahead to risk it
2. If you are a Pass user, they do have a headamp, so that would be an obvious thing to try. As per headphones... Lots of great brands around: HiFiMan, Focal, ZMF, DCA etc...

 

[ALFA100]

90 dB is great for a few minutes. About 80 dB is just right for most of my listening. my neighbours complain above 72 dB . Headphones help ease the pain .

 

[bagwell359]

It's possible to put together a musically pleasing and quite accurate system together for cheap with headphones if you accept the lack of visceral and wall sized soundstage. I didn't have to downsize due to wall neighbors, but trimming the sails for retirement. It was a pleasant surprise that headphones allowed a good measure of quality to ease the loss.

I listen at lower volumes than anyone I know. Just loud enough to hear subtle details and have some sense of scale.

 

[botmann]

... not wanting to disturb neighbours in my new home I found no joy listening to my high end rig below 70 dB ... i took my head phones and amp out of storage ... I replace tubes ...

You have two things going here. One, it's not so much that your high end does not work well at low volumes, its most likely the speakers you have require most power to drive well. Like headphones, some loudspeakers are easier to drive than others. If you want loudspeakers that play well at lower volumes, you'll need to get some that are easier to drive. Totally lame, but it's a reality.

For your headphone setup, sounds like your tubes starting going bad, which happens to all tubes at some point. Beyond that, its possible your new tubes are given more power to your amp, which is able to drive your headphones better because there is more headroom for them.

As for how loud to play... well, the best answer is at the lowest volume possible that you can enjoy material. This will ensure you don't become death as a door nail later in life. I know I have hearing loss. I had it before I graduated high school, which is from listening to headphones too loud, and listening/having booming car audio systems. Listening to 100dbs for one hour will create permenant hearing loss. Also, listening to loud noises can also create tennits (ear ringing), which there is no cure. I have this to a small degree, but luckily for me, I only hear it if there is silence or wearing headphones with no volume or poweroff. It's not loud or anything, but I notice it. I'm not surprise since I've been listening to music at loud volumes since my very early teens. To some degree, I'm surprise I'm not worse off.

 

[draytonklammer]

Having $xx,xxx of both speakers and headphones, I'd say they both serve a unique purpose.
My speakers will always give me that amazing experience.
Headphones will always give me immense details and privacy. They also tend to work better for gaming.
I get vast enjoyment out of both. My custom IEMs have also been great for work use.

 

[sjay]

Cans have their place for times like late night sessions but nothing beats a set of full range speakers in a well setup room. Upgrade as you see fit and can fund I say.

 

[chesebert]

90 dB is great for a few minutes. About 80 dB is just right for most of my listening. my neighbours complain above 72 dB . Headphones help ease the pain .

Get a pair of big subs. Trust me you will be more satisfied listening at 70dB (your neighbors may not if sub bass waves hit them the wrong way )

 

[Ciggavelli]

I received some B&O smart speakers to review, Beosound Balanced, and I've been really impressed with them (https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/us/speakers/beosound-balance). The bass and dynamics are just simply better than headphones (even the TCs). Speakers are just simply better at certain things. I really wish I had the space and area for some floor standing speakers (and no neighbors to annoy). I could see myself switching over to speakers for most of my listening. Maybe one day...

Also, those B&O speakers are nice. I also have the Mu-So 2 as well, and I prefer the Beosound Balanced

 

[Ciggavelli]

I’m about to buy some speakers and a Pass Labs amp. I switched from my Stearg ti my B&O speakers and I’m just super impressed by the speakers. I’m thinking of purchasing the Gershwin Audio Grand Advant Garde.

 

[Amberlamps]

You have two things going here. One, it's not so much that your high end does not work well at low volumes, its most likely the speakers you have require most power to drive well. Like headphones, some loudspeakers are easier to drive than others. If you want loudspeakers that play well at lower volumes, you'll need to get some that are easier to drive. Totally lame, but it's a reality.

For your headphone setup, sounds like your tubes starting going bad, which happens to all tubes at some point. Beyond that, its possible your new tubes are given more power to your amp, which is able to drive your headphones better because there is more headroom for them.

As for how loud to play... well, the best answer is at the lowest volume possible that you can enjoy material. This will ensure you don't become death as a door nail later in life. I know I have hearing loss. I had it before I graduated high school, which is from listening to headphones too loud, and listening/having booming car audio systems. Listening to 100dbs for one hour will create permenant hearing loss. Also, listening to loud noises can also create tennits (ear ringing), which there is no cure. I have this to a small degree, but luckily for me, I only hear it if there is silence or wearing headphones with no volume or poweroff. It's not loud or anything, but I notice it. I'm not surprise since I've been listening to music at loud volumes since my very early teens. To some degree, I'm surprise I'm not worse off.

Yes, taking care of one’s ears should be a priority as I also have tinnitus and slightly degraded hearing in my left ear, which makes listening to music weird as instead of music being in the middle of your hearing, mines is now more dominate on the right hand side.

 

[bagwell359]

You have two things going here. One, it's not so much that your high end does not work well at low volumes, its most likely the speakers you have require most power to drive well. Like headphones, some loudspeakers are easier to drive than others. If you want loudspeakers that play well at lower volumes, you'll need to get some that are easier to drive. Totally lame, but it's a reality.

It could just be the Fletcher-Munson curve.

The power needed to hear 80 hz or 12khz vs 1k is more at low volumes. As one gets older (or suffers hearing loss) those volumes increase relative to when one was younger.

This was understood many years ago - hence the loudness switch.

For your headphone setup, sounds like your tubes starting going bad, which happens to all tubes at some point. Beyond that, it’s possible your new tubes are given more power to your amp, which is able to drive your headphones better because there is more headroom for them.

Tubes can and do fail in a number of ways. Assuming getting to the expected end of life in hrs, the output esp at freq extremes is almost always going to be lower than a fresh tube - and often not equally (one channel worse than another).

My father used to rotate his tubes so the ones that had more output was on his weaker ear side.